


In Which Harley Has Opinions

by mauvera



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (i normally like steve but i got passionate whoops), Gen, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sokovia Accords, not team Cap friendly, really this is just harley roasting Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 07:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17382062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mauvera/pseuds/mauvera
Summary: The Rogue Avengers are being welcomed back. Though Harley refuses to let it seem like its with open arms. If no one else was going to defend his Mechanic then he guesses the job is up to him.Cap on the other hand has no real idea what to do with the very angry and very stubborn young man before him.





	In Which Harley Has Opinions

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my new Harley Keener Appreciation discord group, mostly because this fic is just a recap of our ranting
> 
> (also hi to new readers, i dont normally post stuff like this whoops, but we all know Harley would've gone off at the events of civil war and it seems i'm still bitter)

Harley Keener was not an idiot. He felt like that should be stated loud and clear before anyone judged him for the little things, like that time he accidentally shot his potato gun through his classroom’s window. Or the time he tried to surprise a guy who’d spent the last ten years wallowing in ptsd and was armed with a weaponised suit of armour at all times. Yeah, maybe those weren’t his best or most shining moments but regardless, he was not an idiot. 

 

Perhaps that was why he felt the need to glare at Tony as he lay a firm hand on Harley’s shoulder to keep him in place while whispering harshly not to do anything stupid. Harley was never going to do anything stupid. He was going to do what was necessary. 

 

Captain America and his lackeys strode forward, walking right into the compound like they still had any right to be there. Beside him, he felt Tony fidget, his hand coming up to rub anxiously at his left wrist. It was the same tic that Harley had been picking up on over the last few years, each and every time he’d come to the tower or the compound to hang with Tony any mention of the Rogue Avengers would push the man back into his own head, drifting away into some dark recess of his mind. Harley wasn’t the same kid he used to be, of course he was still a little shit, that was a given, but he’d learnt not to just push people to having panic attacks in the middle of the street. So when the mere mention of Captain America looked like it was pushing Tony back down that path Harley had learnt to back off. 

 

And by ‘back off’ he meant that he’d gone and googled the shit out of the whole Accords business. No matter his unspoken favoritism for Tony, Harley was determined to get all sides of the story. If anything he was sure Tony would be more pissed at him for blindly following than he would for Harley to use his own critical thinking. So he thought critically. Quite critically.

 

“Tony,” Captain America said with a smile that never quite reached his eyes. Harley watched the way his eyes darted around the room, no doubt taking in the ex-SHIELD agents lining the walls, War Machine, Vision and Spider-Man standing to Tony’s left while Pepper, Happy and Harley occupied his right. No matter how many powerhouses were on Cap’s side it was clear he was outnumbered. Excellent. “It’s good to see you again.”

 

Harley couldn’t help the way his eyes rolled in response, not caring that Black Widow had clearly been watching him if her smirk was anything to go by. He was sure to level her with as flat a stare as he could, almost pleased when her right eyebrow raised slightly, which Harley was pretty sure was her was of saying she was impressed. 

 

“Cap,” was Tony’s only response, his voice even and his stare piercing. 

 

Captain America blinked in surprise, most likely expecting some kind of reaction. Any reaction really. Harley wanted to laugh at him, the great Captain America stumped by the fact his so-called friend was mature enough to actually control his feelings in a professional setting. It was like he’d just not paid attention to the fact that Tony’s whole schitck of being an arrogant, thoughtless asshole was in fact an act. Either that was pure neglect on Cap’s part or he was just incredibly bad at reading people. Harley didn’t know which one he’d prefer it to be. 

 

“Thank you for letting us come back here to stay,” he had to give it to him, Captain America was determined to keep going. To fill the uncomfortable silence that had settled across the room in a heavy blanket. “We understand this whole situation has been…  _ unfortunate _ for everyone involved but it is an honour to be back fighting by your side.”

 

Harley’s quiet scoff was ignored by everyone. Admittedly he was glad someone was addressing the fact that everything that was happening was a mess, but still, downgrading everything that had happened to be considered nothing but ‘unfortunate’? Well that was just a dick move. The proof of that being that just about everyone on Tony’s side of the room couldn’t stop themselves from glowering angrily in unison. 

 

“Man, this is awkward.” The Falcon joked. Well, he attempted to joke but it’s not really like anyone was in a laughing mood. Especially not Harley who, despite Tony’s warning glance, spoke up, shattering the icy silence.

 

“Wonder who’s fault that might be?” He snarked. All at once the Rouges turned to him, as if noticing for the first time he was even there.

 

“And who might you be?” Cap said, not quite hostilely but there was an undertone to his voice that Harley didn’t appreciate. Ignoring Tony’s muffled protests Harley stepped forward.

 

“Harley.”

 

“What’s your role here again Harley?” 

 

Slowly a smile split his face, it was the kind of smile that Harley had perfected over the years. One that told his opponents that he was about to tear them to shreds and he would  _ enjoy  _ it. He didn’t feel it necessary to mention that basically the only reason he’d been allowed to be there in the first place was he had pestered Tony so much the man admitted defeat and let him come as long as he agreed to stay quiet.

 

“Me? Well apparently I’m here to be the voice of reason since no one else seems to be doing it. I’m here to tell you assholes that it’s not ‘uncomfortable’ to have y’all in here. It’s wrong is what it is.”

 

“Harley,” Tony hissed behind him but he just took another step out of his reach, ‘until he was standing right before Captain America, looking up into the man’s face as he carried on.

 

“It’s fucked because you-” he jabbed a finger at Cap’s chest and promptly regretted the action, but he ignored his now-aching fingers, “are acting like you didn’t do anything wrong here.”

 

“Son-”

 

“Don’t call me son.”

 

“Alright Harley, I think the situation is a bit more complex than you might be thinking here-”

 

“Oh?” Harley feigned surprise, ripping his hands out of Cap’s who’d tried to stop him from poking him, “What part is complex? The part where you thought the Avengers, a team comprised of superpowered people that have the capacity to inflict major damage on the population almost single handedly, you thought that you guys were better off making decisions than the entire UN. Is that it? No? Alright, maybe it was the part where you didn’t even read the accords? Y’know. Those documents that entire  _ teams _ of lawyers spent years working on. The ones that were able to be amended if you just signed the damn things?”

 

Up until that point Harley had managed to keep his voice steady, even if the fire behind his eyes wouldn’t calm down for a single moment. Before him Cap was looking uncertain, his eyes flickering between Harley and Tony who stood resolutely behind him, arms crossed. 

 

“What’s wrong Cap? Not a fan of truth, justice and the American way anymore?”

 

“Son-”

 

“Don’t call me son.”

 

“Fine,  _ Harley _ . Look I understand this must all be confusing to you but there are more sides to this than you think.” He let out an uncomfortable chuckle that no one was dumb enough to believe for a second. “There were a lot of personal elements to consider. But I in no way wanted to make it seem like I disrespected the UN or the valuable work they do. But back then the Accords just weren’t what we needed in the world. With a lot of hard work though, we’ve reached a consensus. That’s why we’re here son- Harley. That’s why we’re back.”

 

“Personal issues?” Harley asked, his eyes wide with a faux innocence that anyone who had spent more than five minutes in his presence would know not to trust on sight. But Captain America fell for them in seconds. Harley had to smother another disbelieving scoff as Cap rested a gigantic hand on Harley’s shoulder like it was meant to be comforting to him. Behind him he could hear the faint whirring of Tony’s suit shifting in place as the man clearly wanted to drag him back from Cap’s clutches. With a small signal from Harley though Tony backed down again, trusting Harley to handle the situation. He would probably come to regret that decision. 

 

“Now Harley, I don’t know what Tony has told you,” it went unspoken that Cap didn’t know just about anything to do with Harley, or for that matter Tony, “but the break in the Avengers was a harsh necessity. We all needed the time and space to backup and think about where we needed the team to go. It was for the best. For all of us.”

 

Silence stretched between them. Nothing could be heard from either side except quiet breaths as everyone waited with baited breath to see how Harley would react. Those standing behind him were almost certainly dreading what was to come, all knowing Harley far too well to assume he’d let Cap get away with treating him like such a child. The worst part was that they were right; Cap  _ was  _ treating him like a child, as though him putting everything in vague terms and attempting to put a positive spin on it would be enough to distract Harley from everything that had happened. For a second Cap smiled, a small twitch of his lips that told Harley he thought the conversation was over. That everything was settled. That Harley wasn’t about to do exactly what Harley then did. 

 

“Was it best for the Avengers when you tried to murder Tony then?” He asked, his voice infused with a sickly sweet innocence that clashed brilliantly with the sudden fear that flooded Cap’s eyes. 

 

“I didn-”

 

“You did. Oh I’m sorry, did you expect some other outcome when you used your superhuman strength to slam your vibranium shield into the middle of his chest which used to house an arc reactor? Y’know, the kind of thing that gives someone permanent and significant physical trauma. So that’s it huh, that was what you  _ needed _ for the “team”. And what a team it was. The Avengers,” Harley paused, letting his eyes scan distastefully over the now-pardoned war criminals before him, “What a mighty team of scam artists.”

 

He watched each of them raise their eyebrows in surprise. Even Natasha, the great spy she was, let her mouth drop open a fraction as they each considered the implications of his words.

 

“We all know Fury roped you in together last minute to stop the chitauri, you guys weren’t friends. Hell, after they were gone what do you think kept you all together? SHIELD? I think not, then again who can tell these days; you call them SHIELD, I call them HYDRA. As far as I’m aware they’re practically synonyms, huh? But alright, let’s say they were keeping you together. Giving you missions and whatever, that’s nice. It really is. Using their satellites to spy on everyone, except- oh. Huh. It seems like they were using Tony’s satellites half the time. And, correct me if I’m wrong here but you were all also using the weapons Tony designed for you right?” He cast a glance at Natasha, “Nice Widow Bites you’ve got there. Which design are they?” She opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off before she could get a single sound out, “No it’s alright. You don’t need to answer. I’m sure we can all guess who came up with them. And paid for them.” His gaze returned to the line of Rogues before him “Who paid for everything? Your new suit, his new wings. Your housing?” He turned to Wanda who had remained suspiciously quiet the whole time. “He let you into his house. You. The one who spent a whole fucking decade planning to kill him for no reason.”

 

Her eyes flashed red, curls of magic twining themselves around her fingers. Harley held his breath, refusing to stand down but watching her little display of power, the way someone would watch a scared infant who had just picked up a knife.

 

“Little boy,” her accent coloured her words but not enough that Harley was dumb enough to miss her tone. She wasn’t even ten years older than him, the hypocrite. “You are speaking of things you do not know. I had reason for my actions and though I have since come to see why I was misled-”

 

“Misled? Misled?! Woman! You joined the Nazis!  _ You  _ did that. Not anyone else.”

 

“His bomb killed m-”

 

“It wasn’t his!” Harley was shouting now, with every heaving breath he could feel his heart pound against his chest. “He stopped manufacturing weapons the  _ day _ he got back from Afghanistan. Did you miss that? Did you not have fucking google at your fingertips? He was kidnapped and fucking tortured for  _ not _ wanting to sell to terrorists. And you decide to fu-”

 

“Harley.” Tony’s hand rested gently against his shoulder, right where Steve had dared to put his only minutes prior, only now Harley felt himself calming under the reassuring pressure. “Harley it’s okay. We all know what happened. We need to cooperate now. Peacefully.” He added the last word with a firm tug on Harley’s shoulder who allowed himself to be nudged back into place in the line on Tony’s side. 

 

Yet again there was not a sound to be heard in the compound. Everyone still reeling from Harley’s outburst. 

 

“Alright everyone,” Tony said, clearing his throat and plastering on his camera-ready smile. To his right Harley stood, seething that Tony felt the need to put on such a fake expression in his own home, something that he hadn’t seen for months. Of course it got ruined the second the Rouges entered the room. “So this is Harley, he’s a little bit passionate. Regardless, I am still welcoming you all to the compound. As was our prearranged deal.”

 

Harley grinned smugly at the way all the Rogue’s faces dropped. For a second there it genuinely looked like they believed Tony was going to stand up for them. 

 

“It will be an honour to work alongside you all again,” Cap said, struggling to maintain a level of composure enough to appear like he had any control of what had just happened in any capacity. He failed. “The Avengers back together. No more trouble or secrets between us.”

 

Although it was clear that he was simply announcing that little lie for the benefit of all the witnesses that ringed around the room Harley didn’t bother to hide his snort of laughter. Cap’s smile tightened uncomfortably as everyone waited for one of them to move first. Harley himself was curious to see who would bow down first: the mighty Captain America or a stubborn teenager. To nobody’s surprise Cap was the one to break the silence first. 

 

“Kid-”

 

“I’m not a kid.”

 

“Harley,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. “Is there something else you’d like to say?”

 

“Well, now that you mention it.” Harley smiled, baring his teeth even as Tony sighed defeatedly behind him. He stalked forward until he was back in front of Cap, staring the man down unblinkingly. “I just wanted to address something you said. It’s no big deal really,” his hand waved flippantly through the air, not that anyone was fooled for a moment, “You mentioned no more secrets, and here’s the thing; I don’t trust you.”

 

Cap frowned uncertainly, unsure just where Harley was going with his this line of conversation. 

 

“Would you like me to elaborate?” Harley asked, a manic fire raging just behind his eyes, Cap nodded uncertainly after figuring that it would probably be better to just get everything out in the open. “Well, how about we start with your lies? Like the one where you learnt who killed Tony’s parents. And then you didn’t tell him.” With every word Harley stepped forward, forcing Cap to back away unless he wanted an irritated teen slamming into him. “You knew who it was, you knew it wasn’t an accident and you didn’t think to mention it? No. Of course not. Why would you, Captain Fucking America, feel the need to share that with anyone. It clearly made  _ way _ more sense to go off and use  _ his _ resources to track down your friend. The one who as far as you were aware is the same guy who killed them. And then you do find him. Breaking how many laws to do so? It doesn’t even matter. You broke laws, you disobeyed the UN and you didn’t think for a second to explain what happened to your bestie? Nah, why sit down and talk when instead you could just fight your way out, right?”

 

Harley felt himself beginning to shake with anger. If he kept going he’d either end up trying to deck Captain America, probably breaking his hand in the process, or he’d do something embarrassing like cry because he was getting himself so worked up. Instead he took a few deep breaths, stupidly pleased that no one dared interrupt him while he worked up to the big finale. He found himself speaking through gritted teeth while refusing to break eye contact. 

 

“So welcome back Captain. I hope you enjoy your stay at the compound.”  

 

Ignoring the rest of the Rogues Harley spun on his heel and strode towards the door. Just as he crossed the threshold of the room he rose his voice above the sparse whispers that had accumulated. “Just know who has the real power and the real  _ loyalty  _ here, because I assure you it’s not the assholes that only just walked through those doors.”

 

With that final statement left to hang in the air Harley left the room, not looking back once. 


End file.
